King Charles Leads Remembrance Sunday Silence at Cenotaph

King Charles III led Britain in a two minute silence at the Cenotaph in London on Sunday, as Remembrance Sunday brought about 10,000 veterans to Whitehall to honour the men and women who died in conflict.

The national service began at 11 a.m. on November 8. Guns fired by the Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery on Horse Guards Parade marked the start and the end of the silence after the first stroke of Big Ben. The King then laid the first wreath at the Cenotaph, followed by the Prince of Wales and other senior royals, political leaders and Commonwealth representatives.

A record gathering of former prime ministers

Nine former prime ministers stood together at the service, a record for the ceremony: Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major. Prime Minister Andy Burnham attended his first Remembrance Sunday in office and laid a wreath with other senior politicians.

Queen Camilla and Catherine, Princess of Wales, watched from the balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office overlooking Whitehall. The King wore the uniform of a Marshal of the Royal Air Force, and his wreath carried 41 paper poppy petals mounted on black leaves, closely modelled on a wreath produced for King George VI.

The march past

The service ended at about 11:25 a.m., and the Royal British Legion detachments then marched past the Cenotaph. The government said no tickets were needed and the public watched from the pavements along Whitehall and Parliament Street, where Whitehall had opened to spectators at 8 a.m.

About 20 of the veterans taking part had served during the Second World War. The Royal British Legion this year marked the 35th anniversary of the end of the 1990 to 1991 Gulf War, which followed the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday of November and is distinct from Armistice Day on November 11, the anniversary of the armistice that took effect at 11 a.m. on November 11, 1918 and ended the fighting on the Western Front in the First World War. A further two minute silence will be held at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11.

Smaller services ran in towns and cities across the United Kingdom on the same morning. In London, a large screen south of the Cenotaph, on the corner of King Charles Street, carried the service to spectators who could not see the memorial itself, and a viewing area on the west side of Parliament Street was set aside for wheelchair users and others who needed space to watch.